** The Datsuns @ Metro (773/549-0203) April 3
** The Music @ The Vic (312/559-1212) April 6
**The Raveonettes @ Empty Bottle (773/276-3600) May 27
The garage rock revival breakthrough may be taking longer to blast off full throttle (read: chart-topping sales) than anticipated, but that hasn't stopped bands from emerging from the shadows to try to burst your eardrums. Is it just a trend or a means to an end?
They Threw Us All In A Trench and Stuck A Monument On Top (Blast First/Mute) by Liars is one of the more exotic and greasy concoctions to roll out of the garage. In addition to the rock elements that you would expect to hear (pounding drums, roaring and screeching guitars, punctual bass, snarled vocals), you get a drum machine ('Mr your on fire Mr' and 'The Garden Was Crowded And Outside'), you get loopy loops ('Tumbling walls buried me in the debris with ESG'), and you get unusual keyboard sounds ('Nothing is ever lost or can be lost my science Friend' and 'We live NE of Compton'). Garage rock graduates from art school with dirty fingernails.
The members of The Agenda don't even wait until the garage door is all the way up before putting the pedal to the metal on Start The Panic (Kindercore). Manic and mod-core ('a mix between mod rock and hardcore punk'), The Agenda's agenda consists of combating boredom and dancing 'to the sound of right now,' which can be best experienced on 'Out With The Old! In With The New!,' 'Last Chance For Action!,' '50,000 Watts of Love,' and 'Hot Pants.'
The band photo for Strangest Parade (Sub Pop) by The Makers says almost as much, almost as loudly as the 13 songs on the disc. The Makers' glam-garage sound and look speaks to a different element of the scene, emotions coming to the surface, only to be met by vacant stares. Still you can't blame the guys for trying to break on through on songs such as 'Hard To Be Human,' 'Laughter, Then Violence,' the leather-clad hip shaking 'Addicted To Dying,' and the easygoing pop of 'Suicide Blues.'
The eight songs on Whip It On (Crunchy Frog), the EP by The Raveonettes, which clock in at just over 21 minutes, have something aside from brevity that set them apart from the other garage-rock influenced releases here. The Raveonettes are a male/female duo (see The White Stripes) and therefore bring a female energy to their work. You can hear it in all its glory on the Velvet Undergroundish 'Veronica Fever,' the rocking 'Cops On Your Tail,' and the exciting 'Beat City.'
Here's something to consider—do Scandinavian garage rockers have Saabs or Volvos in their garages? Following in the massive footsteps of The Hives, Division of Laura Lee and The Soundtrack of Our Lives (or are they in the lead?) are The Flaming Sideburns with their aptly titled Save Rock 'N' Roll (Jetset) disc. Tearing it up like the fountain of youthful Stones, The Flaming Sideburns will heat up your speakers and headphones on tracks such as 'Up In Flames,' ' Blow The Roof,' 'Flowers,' 'The Sweet Sound of L.U.V.,' 'Street Survivor,' and 'I'm In The Moon.'
Garage rockers from other continents are also piping in with their own sonic booms. The D4 hails from New Zealand and they open their debut disc 6Twenty (Hollywood) with the bold statement 'Rocknroll Motherf***er.' After that they attempt to distinguish themselves from the pack, which raises the point that a lot of garage rock tends to sound the same. Out of 13 tracks, only the quick, tight rush of 'Get Loose' and the Ramones-like 'Mysterex' counted for anything to me.
The D4's stiffest and loudest competition is The Datsuns, and the quartet's raucous self-titled, 10-track debut disc on V2. Also hailing from New Zealand, The Datsuns' hard and heavy rock assault made me long for the stunning and sophisticated song-stylings of the Finn brothers and Split Enz. As if to provide an answer (or a response) to the D4's song, The Datsuns track two declaration is called 'MF From Hell.' The Datsuns move the garage rock out into the parking lot on songs such as 'Sittin' Pretty,' 'At Your Touch,' 'In Love,' and the near-glam of 'Harmonic Generator.'
The Forty-Fives give us garage rock with a Southern accent on the album Fight Dirty (Yep Roc). The combination of Bryan G. Malone's bluesy-growl and Trey Tidwell's organ playing (especially on 'What A Way To Go,' 'The Devil Beats His Wife,' 'Hanging By A Thread,' and 'Great Escape') provides this quartet a slight advantage.
Like Liars, Howie Statland and his band NYC Smoke bring an East Coast power and attitude to the songs on For The Posers (Smoke Recordings). There is a punk rock pose to NYC Smoke's garage-against-the-machine style, making songs such as 'Balance,' 'Harbor,' and 'Halo Man,' especially notable.
Not ones to be left out of any musical scene or trend, the British music press has anointed self-titled disc by The Music (Capitol) to be one of the next big things. With youth working in their favor (there is much growth in this young band's future), The Music serves up a platter of psychedelic-influenced garage rock that straddles the past and the present.
Hot Hot Heat's five-song EP Knock Knock Knock (Sub Pop) left me wanting more, especially on the basis of 'Le Le Low,' 'Have A Good Sleep,' and the stomp and clap of 'Touch You Touch You.' Good thing Hot Hot Heat's major-label debut Make Up The Breakdown (Sire/Reprise), a reissue of the the Sub Pop follow-up of the same name, was right around the proverbial corner. These Canadian glam/garage rockers give modern rock roots a good name. It's cool to wear your influences on your sleeve, as long as you have room in your wardrobe for all of them.
Hot Hot Heat earns garage credibility via Steve Bays' organ grind on 'Aveda' and 'Bandages' and his semi-Robert Smith vocals ('This Town,' 'Naked In The City Again,' 'Get In Or Get Out') speak to a whole different segment of the population, and that can't hurt.
Chicago Gay Men's Chorus Satirical Revue
Just a Little Song & Dance, which runs April 11 and 12, 2003, transforms the Athenaeum Theatre into an elegant supper club with a wild floorshow à la the Berlin cabarets of the 1920s and early 1930s, an era when gay performers were known primarily for their satirical commentary on politics and society.
The show opens with the beloved 'Willkommen' from Cabaret, John Kander & Fred Ebb's 1966 masterwork of musical entertainment and social commentary. But instead of poking fun at the forces behind the emerging Third Reich, CGMC will aim their scathing wit at current events.
Tickets are $15, $20 and $25b and are available by calling Ticketmaster at (312) 902-1500 (www.ticketmaster.com) or by visiting the Athenaeum Theatre box office at 2936 N. Southport Ave., or Unabridged Books at 3251 N. Broadway.
Aretemis Singers Concert Benefits LCCP
Artemis Singers, Chicago's Lesbian feminist chorus, will present the Chicago premiere of 'Where I Live: A Breast Cancer Oratorio,' at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 3, as a benefit for Lesbian Community Cancer Project. 'Where I Live' is a seven-movement, six-narrative piece by Diane Benjamin, Minneapolis composer and musician. The piece addresses the experience of breast cancer at the personal level and also highlights cancer's link with environmental toxins. Written while a friend was going through cancer treatment, it is an oratorio for women's chorus, strings, piano and percussion.
At the May 3 premiere, some of the 'Where I Live' performers are women living with cancer; some are cancer survivors. The 20-member Artemis Singers chorus, founded in 1980, provides opportunities for women to participate in concert production, such as sound engineering, music composition and arranging, conducting and set construction, as well as singing.
Also on the program is the Lakeside Pride Women's Ensemble. They will present a program of classical, jazz and modern pieces, several of which were composed or arranged by women, including ensemble members. A selection from the late Kay Gardner's composition, 'Ouroboros,' will be featured.
Wheelchair accessible and signed for the hearing-impaired, the May 3 concert will be held at St. Patrick Performing Arts Centre, 5900 W. Belmont Ave. Off-street parking is available. Tickets are $17 donation in advance; $20 at the door. See www.lccp.org, at Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark, or (773) 764-4465.
